The Funeral
by iDrinkBloodshake
Summary: After the death of her fiance, Bella was left broken, both emotionally and physically, until Jasper Whitlock, a soldier who was just as wrecked as she was, walked into her life. Little did they know that their new found happiness was short-lived.


_**A/N: It's just a short fic I had lying around in my laptop for months. I decided to give it a go and have it published here after being on an unexpected hiatus for so long. Why not? (: **_

**The Funeral**

_I'm coming up only to hold you under_

_I'm coming up only to show you wrong_

_And to know you is hard and we wonder_

_To know you all wrong, we were_

_Really too late to call, so we wait for_

_Morning to wake you; it's all we got_

_To know me as hardly golden_

_Is to know me all wrong, they were_

_At every occasion I'll be ready for a funeral_

_At every occasion once more is called a funeral_

_Every occasion I'm ready for the funeral_

_At every occasion one brilliant day funeral_

_I'm coming up only to show you down for_

_I'm coming up only to show you wrong_

_To the outside, the dead leaves, they all blow_

_Before they died had trees to hang their hope_

_At every occasion I'll be ready for the funeral_

_At every occasion once more is called the funeral_

_Every occasion I'm ready for the funeral_

_At every occasion one brilliant day funeral_

**2008 - Bella's POV**

Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I felt like the clear sky was mocking me with its brightness, reminding me that there were millions of couples out there, loving each other, completing one another. Hell, I even envied those who didn't have any girlfriend or boyfriend. At least there was still hope that the love of their life might be waiting for them somewhere. What about me? I was just a crippled young woman crying over her deceased fiancé. Everywhere I went, people stared at me in pity. I hated it. I missed his beautiful green eyes looking into my brown ones. We would gaze into each other's eyes for hours and time would stop. After he was gone, time ceased to exist, too. Not because of his presence lurking in the back of my head, but because he wasn't there anymore.

It had been a gloomy, rainy night. Nobody would know that the accident would happen. It had been… fatal, gruesome, it was indescribable. The lane was too slippery and the road was too dark. Edward had insisted on driving through it all. The next thing I knew the car swiveled uncontrollably, there were electric sparks outside the window, and shards of glass were tossing about, some of them was embedded on my skin. I recalled blacking out and when I woke up, I lost the bottom half of my right leg. It was all nothing compared to the information I received that Edward didn't survive the crash.

"Bells, time to go home," Jacob said from behind me, his hands squeezing my tiny shoulders.

Jacob Black and I were friends since forever. He was always by my side, during the good times and the bad. It was no surprise that he was here for me now, during my blackest moments; to give me the slightest ray of hope in an unending tunnel I seemed to be in, when no one else could.

I nodded, throwing a small bouquet of daffodils, which was his favorite type of flower, onto his grave. "Let's go."

Jacob started pushing the wheelchair I was sitting on, wheeling me towards the exit.

"What do you think does that cloud shape like?" he asked out of nowhere as he pointed up to a random cloud. Always trying to lighten up the mood, he was.

"Gee, uhm… I don't know. Vanilla-flavored cotton candy, maybe?" I guessed, playing along with his tricks.

"Can you get any more creative?" he responded, sarcasm laced in his voice. "It totally looks like a triple cheeseburger."

I laughed, and I was surprised that it sounded quite genuine, unlike the other days following Edward's death. "I'm assuming you're hungry right now."

"Hungry? I'm starving! Does Burger King sound good to you? The tab's on me, don't worry," he jabbered on and on excitedly like a fan girl talking about Justin Bieber. There was no stopping Jake once he talked about food.

I tuned him out without difficulty by taking in the environment. Chills ran up my spine at the sight of gravestones, a bitter reminder of what was waiting ahead of us all. I had never been a religious person, but I wasn't foolish enough to realize that there was always an end to one's life; therefore, I should live mine to the fullest, although, after my loss, there wasn't much purpose for me to keep living. Too bad I was too chicken to commit suicide.

I passed by a group of people in black and uniforms on my way out. _Ah, a funeral._ What an irony. I was just thinking about death, yet here was a stranger who had just passed away.

"Emmett McCarty has always been a loyal man to his family, friends, colleagues, and last but not least, his country," a man on the podium started. "What happened to him in Afghanistan was very unfortunate."

"Jake, stop, stop," I ordered in a hushed voice. Even though I had no idea who this Emmett was, I felt I had to be there, be quiet, and be polite, in honor of his memory. It was the least I could do after not being there for Edward during his burial.

I looked straight ahead to the man giving a speech. To my surprise, he caught my eye and holy shit; his eyes were the most brilliant shade of blue I had ever seen in my entire life. Have you ever seen the sky reflected on pool water? It was bright, it was clear, it was relaxing, and it was translucent. That was the exact color of his eyes. To see the sorrow tainting them was another thing entirely.

He started to stutter as soon as we broke eye contact, but managed to end his speech with, "Emmett will be missed terribly."

The audience seemed confused when he finished his speech a little too soon, but they didn't show any sign of protest, anyway. He never paid any attention to me after that. Still, I sat through the ceremony a few meters away, telling Jake to buy our lunch, promising him that I'd be okay.

I imagined that Edward was here by my side, encasing me in his warm embrace once more. He would kiss my hand first, up to my arm until his lips finally reached mine. He was the only one I could really feel safe and comfortable with, because he'd never hurt me and we both knew that.

**-Flashback (1995)-**

It was the last day of summer break in Phoenix. Some kids would lock themselves at home to do the homework they had forgotten to do during the break, while the diligent ones—myself included—would go out and spend the short amount of time we had left to have fun.

I wasn't much of an outdoorsy type, so I usually stayed indoors, except when the days got incredibly hot. That day, though, I wanted to do something different. I went to the nearest park, sat under a tree, and spent time reading. I got my nose too deep inside the book; I didn't notice the bronze-haired boy watching across from me. Once I did, I involuntarily squeaked in shock.

"What are you looking at?" I yelled at him then, trying to sound brave although my body was shaking.

He ignored my question. "Hi, I just moved here and I was asking myself whether or not should I buy you an ice cream." Before I could open my mouth to speak, he held up his hand and said, "Excuse me for being so rude. I'm Cullen. Edward Cullen."

I let my guard down as I burst out laughing at his pathetic attempt at mimicking James Bond, slamming the book closed and walked up to him. "Why not? My name's Swan, by the way. Bella Swan."

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Swan. Bella Swan," he chuckled. "Shall we?"

He held out his hand, waiting for me to take it. I hesitated. I didn't know what I was thinking earlier, accepting Edward's offer right away. He could have been a kidnapper, a rapist, or a molester. Judging from his figure, he could take me out easily.

_A molester wouldn't look this handsome, though, would he?_

Noticing my hesitation, he sighed. "Listen, my parents are currently visiting your home. Your dad, Charles, insisted that I hang out with you so that you wouldn't waste your last day of vacation alone. You have to believe me because you had once kissed your best friend, Jacob Black, after watching Romeo and Juliet just to see how it felt like to kiss someone and be kissed."

"Not the best kiss ever, though. His lips were covered in maple syrup. He loves to eat," I replied, trying to get the spotlight away from me. I was so going to kill Charlie when I got home for telling one of my darkest secrets to my possible new friend.

**-End of Flashback-**

"Ma'am, are you alright?" a smooth male voice asked. His voice sounded faintly familiar but I couldn't wrap my finger around it.

I looked up to the pair of blue eyes I had admired earlier, finding that my sight was blurry from the tears. I made an attempt to blink them away, but it was futile. It only made it worse. I looked back into his eyes and almost choked when all I saw was green irises.

"_I want somebody to share,  
Share the rest of my life,  
Share my innermost thoughts,  
Know my intimate details,  
Someone who'll stand by my side_,

_And give me support_," Edward once serenaded.

"I'm sorry," was all I could say to fill the stretching silence.

"Do you know Emmett? Because I saw you sitting here, watching his funeral. If you need some time alone, I'll let you be. My deepest condolences."

"Actually, I don't know who Emmett McCarty was," I admitted with a blush.

"Then, what are you doing—"

"It's a long story," I cut off.

"Every story is long nowadays, huh?" he sighed. "Don't you just miss those days where everything used to be so simple that living through them was as easy as breathing?"

_Being with Edward was as easy as breathing_, I thought to myself, causing the pain of losing him that much more prominent. I felt like drowning or having an asthma attack. I nodded in response of his question, not wanting him to know that I was this close to crying.

"Did I say something wrong?" Gone was his politeness, all that was left in his voice was anxiousness.

"Don't worry about it," I answered after taking a deep breath. "You can call me Bella."

"Pleasure to meet you, Bella. I'm Whitlock. Sergeant Jasper Whitlock, at your service."

For the first time in weeks, I allowed myself to smile a little.


End file.
